Saturday, April 19, 2014

It is surprising to me how each of my children's personalities come fully developed. From the moment that they are born they are themselves and so different from each other. The contrast seems the most between Kate and Becca because Kate was so timid and Becca seems so adventuresome in comparison. Some of that is true, and some is perception. For example, Becca is starting to choose out her own clothes, and isn't afraid to go in the basement, but Kate still won't go downstairs by herself and is terrified that she might get left there.

This is how I remember Kate at that age - sleepy, timid and sucking her thumb.

Becca doesn't nap as much as Kate did - only and hour or two a day, but she still gets tired. The other day Becca climbed up on top of the piano, and then fell asleep perched on the keys and the quilt blocks piled on the top amidst the cluttered piano books.

I thought that no way would Kate do something like that, but here is a picture I found of Kate at that same age. Kate did climb up on the piano after all, but you can tell it is her since she is sucking her thumb and twirling her hair. I was wrong. Kate was just as daring as her sister.

On a completely different topic, amazingly she has stopped sucking her thumb. Leila put foul tasting fingernail polish on her thumbs - Kate says it tastes like lady bug legs. She was traumatized for the first day and had a hard time sleeping. She couldn't fall asleep and was so stressed about it that she started to throw up. The next day she was a little better, and then from then on no more thumb sucking. Two weeks now without regressing. Breakthrough.

Here is an example where Becca seems much more adventuresome than Kate and I can document that in this case this is true. We roasted marshmallows outside the other night and Becca was entranced by the fire and wanted to be right in the midst of everyone.

Here is that same scene in June of 2012. Notice the head poking up by the stairs, that is Kate. That is as close as she would come to the smoldering coals.

This is Colleen at about the same age as Becca and I think they look the most alike even though they have very different personalities.